"I CAN TAKE Verona home."

Katrina had bid her friends good-bye after leaving with Landon, who was picking her up for a late night movie.

Verona made a mental note to check in with Katrina- they hadn't been going on their ice cream hangouts as often after Katrina and Landon began dating, and she was missing her best friend.

Roman raised his eyebrows at Leo's offer, but nodded. "I can only take one other person with me in my car anyways."

"Yeah, it makes more sense anyways if I take Verona." Leo said, "I live closer to her, if she still lives where she used to?"

Verona nodded at this.

"Great! I'll take her home." Leo said with a grin, "She hasn't had some Leo Winters quality time in two years. She's deprived."

Verona rolled her eyes, "Only because some idiot moved away in the middle of the night."

"You won't let go of that, will you?"

"Not even when we're old and pruny."

"You're assuming that we live that long and that I don't get carried off by an adoring fan."

"Shut up."

Roman shook his head, "Bye, guys. I'll see you guys later." He waved goodbye to them, his other hand grasping Emilia's.

Verona gave a thought and then turned around, calling out, "Emilia! I'll talk to you later?"

Emilia gave a nod before walking off to Roman's car.

"My car's here." Leo mentioned absently. He cast a look back at where Roman and Emilia were, "Emilia seems pretty sweet and nice."

Verona murmured her agreement absently.

Leo led her to his car, unlocking it and opening the door for her on the passenger side before walking around to his driver's seat.

"So how long have they been dating for?" Leo asked, starting the ignition.

"Almost half a year." Verona replied.

He turned out of the parking lot, giving her a sideways glance before saying, "You can choose the music if you want. I don't care what we listen to."

Verona reached over to mess around with his radio station, giving a slight grin, "Even Justin Bieber's Baby?"

Leo wrinkled his nose, "I have the power to eject you from this car. Don't try me."

Verona kept tinkering around with his radio, before settling on a classical station that was playing a Rachmaninoff trio, a piece she recognized.

"Are you dating anyone?" Leo asked abruptly, his voice cutting through the strings and piano.

Verona looked at him in surprise before replying, "No?"

"Good."

Verona blinked at him for a minute before venturing to ask, "Why?"

He didn't say anything until he reached a red light, taking his eyes off the road to look at her.

"I know you don't do third chances." He said softly, his eyes surprisingly serious, "But I was wondering if you could give me a second chance."

He held her gaze, his usual gleam of mischief gone and replaced with an earnest sparkle.

Verona could feel her heart thudding in her ears- this was a moment in which she felt infinite, in the quietness between them with only Rachmaninoff filling it.

It felt like the movies, that moment when everything was unraveling into something beautiful.

She swallowed, meeting his gaze framed by his blonde lashes. He was close enough that she could see the faint scar on his cheek from when he had fallen from a tree. He felt so real and not at the same time, and at once she was struck by how he was so familiar but grown.

"The light is green." She said hoarsely.

He blinked, turning his attention away from her.

They continued their car ride in silence for the rest of the way. Verona's mind was swimming with thoughts- his words echoing in her head.

The music changed, the Rachmaninoff ending and a Beethoven piano concerto began.

"Do you still play?" Leo asked.

She bite her lip before responding, "No."

"Why? You were so good." His eyebrows raised in surprise.

"My piano teacher passed away last year." Verona replied quietly.

"Oh."

Leo turned a few more streets, making his way into the area that Verona was familiar with before pulling up to a blue storybook house.

"Here we are." Leo said with a smile.

"Thanks for the ride." Verona replied, the odd silence awkward and bizarre.

"No problem." Leo replied.

She turned to leave before he touched her gently on her arm.

"Verona." He said, their gazes locking again, "You don't have to give me another chance if you don't want to." He gave a soft smile, "I get it if you don't."

Verona looked at him, and before she could register what she was promising, she said, "But I want to."

A smile bloomed across his face, how a lily opens in the spring and how a star would come into existence, through a burst of light.

In that one infinite second, she would have done anything to keep that smile on his face, "Thank you."

~

    VERONA LAID awake in her bed, her quilt covering her.

Her heart remembered how Leo made her feel those years ago, like everything was soaring and carefree. Everything was fun with him, and he made her smile more than anyone ever had.

Verona was struck with the sensation of how juvenile that love was (if it could be called that) and how she had grown so much.

Those were the days of scribbling his names with hers, the giddiness of his grasp around her hand, and the joy in knowing that his heart was hers. Those were the days that she felt as though the future was stretching out in front of her, vast and expanding.

Verona remembered everything about Leo and how he made her feel.

She remembered his smile, his jokes and his laughter. And she knew that if she asked for it, his heart could be hers so easily.

So why was it that whenever she closed her eyes, it wasn't Leo's grin she saw, but Roman's smirking face?

~

[I'm thinking about buying a createspace version of this after I'm done because I'm actually quite happy with this. ☺️]